The present invention pertains to absorbent articles, such as training pants, diapers, incontinence garments and the like, and more particularly, to a mechanical fastening system for such absorbent articles.
Such absorbent articles generally comprise a liquid-impermeable barrier sheet, a liquid permeable body side liner and an absorbent medium between them. They generally include some type of attaching system for fitting the article to the wearer. In many such applications, the fastening system is preferably refastenable so that the article can be temporarily removed and then refastened to the wearer.
One common form of mechanical attachment systems is the so called hook-and-loop system which comes in various forms and has both advantages and disadvantages in its application to such absorbent articles. For example, particularly with disposable diapers, the fasteners are secured to the garment in the front and back, generally in such a manner that the hook portions of the fasteners on each side are pulled over the loop portions to secure the garment to the wearer. In typical such installations the loop material is relatively unstretchable and either forms a portion of the garment itself or is attached to the surface of the garment. The hook panel is generally stretchable while the hook is generally unstretchable so that it can be positioned on the loop material for adjustment to the size and shape of the wearer of the garment.
A disadvantage of this type of hook-and-loop system is the tendency of the hooks to separate from the loop material when the wearer is active, such as when stooping or bending as is common with a child in training pants. This disengagement failure can result in requiring it to be refastened. This produces an undesirable inconvenience and disadvantage of such a mechanical fastening system for such applications. In an attempt to overcome this disadvantage many systems have increased the force to disengage through various enhancements to maximize the hook-and-loop material interaction.